The present invention relates generally to an automotive occupant ejection prevention assembly and more particularly to a beltline positioned airbag assembly.
Automotive vehicle design is governed by the constant and unending pursuit of improved occupant comfort and safety. Each generation of vehicle design and production proceeds down a path that provides occupants with more and more improvements. These improvements are not always paradigm shifts but are often improvements over existing technology or the adaptation of existing technology to provide improved application. The industry has therefore placed great value on the development and improvement of new safety technologies.
A staple of modern occupant safety technology is airbag assembly systems. Airbag assemblies are utilized to absorb occupant momentum during impact scenarios such that injury to the occupants is minimized. Recognition of the benefits of airbag technology has lead to a diversity of advancements in both airbag design and application. One genus of such improvements can be categorized as side airbag designs. Present side airbag designs imitate traditional frontal impact designs wherein the airbag is inflated out of a module during impact towards the occupant. The nature of the vehicle structure, however, places severe constraints on side airbag placement. Side airbags, therefore, are often positioned immediately above the door armrest. This provides sufficient backing door structure behind the airbag upon inflation. Commonly, however, the occupant is positioned well above this position and therefore no structural backing is positioned between the occupant and the window frame. If the window is closed, then limited structural backing can be provided an airbag, but if open often a side inflated airbag has insufficient back support to properly protect an occupant.
Furthermore, present side airbag designs do not properly protect an occupant from the hazards associated with vehicle rollover. An open or damaged window creates the risk of occupant ejection from the vehicle during rollover. Clearly, retaining the occupant within the vehicle provides the best opportunity for injury minimization. Existing side mounted airbag systems, however, are not triggered by a vehicle rollover unless in response to a side-impact during rollover. When such systems deploy, it is possible for a partially ejected occupant to be caught between the airbag and the window frame. It would be more desirable to have an airbag assembly that responded directly to a vehicle rollover to minimize the opportunity for occupant ejection. It would further be highly desirable to have an airbag assembly that exerted forces on the occupant during deployment that served to direct the occupant back into the vehicle.